Adjectives bring language to life, and teaching them should be just as colorful. This post offers eight classroom-tested activities to help students master adjective clauses, ordering rules, and comparative forms through literature, visuals, and sensory experiences.
Teaching Video with Organizer
This video is a great overview of several rules about adjectives. It includes definitions and examples for the following:
- adjective clauses
- ordering adjectives
- comparative and superlative adjectives
The lesson pairs with a provided graphic organizer. Students listen to the first part of the video to hear the definition of interjections. When instructed to do so, students pause the video and complete their organizers. Finally, students watch the remainder of the video to check their answers.
Download free posters, the video organizer, and classroom handouts here.
More Adjective Activities
Activity #1 – Posters
This set of mini-posters may be displayed in the classroom during the lesson to emphasize the main points of the lesson.
Also, check out this free printable poster and banner at Teaching Ideas.
Activity #2 – Adjectives Bulletin Board Idea
Select a food item that students can sample in class. [I have done this activity with apples, popcorn, and Hershey kisses.] As students eat the food, have them complete a chart with rich describing words (adjectives) like the one below.
| See | Hear | Feel | Taste | Sound |
Next, provide students with one or two paper cut-outs of the food item you have selected for this activity. Each student will select the best word(s) from his/her chart and write one word per cut-out.
The cut-outs will then be arranged on the bulletin board in an attractive manner. For example, apples may spill out of a basket. Popcorn may be in a red and white striped box like those provided at the movie theater.
Activity #3 – Schoolhouse Rock
YouTube has a number of videos on adjectives. Try “Unpack your Adjectives” from Schoolhouse Rock. You will find the lyrics at the Schoolhouse Rock site. Students love these catchy tunes.
Adjective Activity #4: Apples to Apples Game
Play a classroom version of Apples to Apples using adjective cards and noun cards. Students match descriptive words to objects and justify their choices.
Teaching Tip:
Add a twist: challenge students to use the adjective in a sentence that includes a simile or metaphor.
Activity #5 – Online Activities that Help Students Learn about Adjectives
These links take you to online games and lessons about adjectives.
Here are a few links to help you find lessons and practice pages:
Activity #6 – Picture Books that Help Teach Adjectives
Use literature to teach adjectives in context. Recommended titles include:
- Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? by Brian P. Cleary
- If You Were an Adjective (Word Fun) by Michael Dahl
- A Is for Angry: An Animal and Adjective Alphabet by Sandra Boynton
- Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives (Explore!) by Ruth Heller
- Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives by Brian P. Cleary
- Breezier, Cheesier, Newest, and Bluest: What Are Comparatives and Superlatives? by Brian P. Cleary
- Pig, Pigger, Piggest by Rick Walton
- Grammar Tales: The Bug Book by Maria Fleming
- Beast Feast: Poems & Paintings by Douglas Florian
Activity #7 – Adjectives Anchor Chart
This anchor chart is interactive. Students use sticky notes with categories such as determiner, observation, and so on to identify each adjective in the sentence. The sticky notes can be removed, so the activity can be repeated with another group of students.
Activity #8 – Adjective Clause Challenge
Provide students with sentence starters and challenge them to expand each with an adjective clause (e.g., “The girl who wore a red scarf…”).
Teaching Tip:
Use color-coded sentence strips to highlight the clause and its function in the sentence.
📥 Downloadable Resources
All handouts, organizers, posters, and PowerPoint files are bundled for easy access.
See the product that inspired this post.
Ready to dive deeper?
To look at how Teaching Grammar with Animated Shorts can transform your grammar lessons, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store. You’ll find detailed lesson plans, interactive activities, and everything you need to bring grammar to life in your classroom!
Click on the buttons to visit other posts in this series.
1 comment
Thank you! Love this!